The Damned
by missy-oa
Summary: In a world where vampires and werewolves are fighting to survive the inquisition lead by the sorcerers, will it be possible for two individuals to find love? KK R&R :
1. Dungeons

Well, I feel inspired these days so I started this new story. Am kinda new at this whole writing thing so please keep that in mind when reading. Do not hesitate to leave any comment you like in your reviews. I just want to get better in my writing so any comment is helpful. Don't be shy.

With that said, enjoy this first chapter.

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**_Dungeons_**

The room was pitch black. It was impossible to see anything. The walls were made out of cold stone and offered no warmth whatsoever. There was a moisture build up in the corners of the room giving it a slight damp feeling. Chains were hanging from the walls. Most of them were rusted by the moisture that existed in the room. There wasn't any kind of opening. The only entrance was a heavy wooden door with a small slit in it. At the moment the slit was closed since this dungeon had no occupants.

The door suddenly swung open with two heavy set guard appearing at the entrance. They were holding a slight figure between them. On lone guard entered the room behind them holding a torch. At the light of the small flame, it was now possible to see exactly how bad the condition of this dungeon was. Some food was rotting in one corner. There were rats a bit everywhere. Some hay was scattered here and there not blocking any of the coldness that emanated from the cold stone floor.

These things went unnoticed from the guards. Their only interest was to secure their prisoner as quickly as possible and then head for the nearest fire. It was getting quite chilly at night during these late autumn nights and with the sun setting early no one wanted to be caught outside after dark.

The two guards pushed their prisoner against a wall. Grabbing two of the chains they secured it around the person's wrists making sure that they were solidly attached. The form now lay unconscious against the wall not moving. The only sign that it was still alive was the rise of its chest after with every deep breath taken.

They quickly took a step back and crossed themselves invoking the protection of their God.

The men all stepped out and the door was closed with a loud bang. The slit was pulled back so that the one guard staying on watch would be able to keephis eyes on the prisoner until it was time for the trial. The inquisitors had been very specific in their instructions for this particular person. No one would be allowed to enter the room, much less speak to it unless it was one of them.

A small ray of light entered through the slit right onto the person's head. It was now possible to identify it as a young woman that was probably around the age of 20. She had long black hair that seemed to shine silver that hung limplyand her skin was as pale as the moon giving it an eerie glow. Her dress was torn in many places asif she had just been in some kind of fight.Shehad not stirred during this whole time. The guards were grateful for this. No one in their sane mind wanted to deal with a demon of the night, a vampire.

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So here is the first chapter. What do you think? Good? Bad? Should I continue or not? Can't wait here about your opnions.

missy-oa .


	2. So It Begins

Well, here's chapter 2 of _The Damned_. It was quite a hard chapter to right since a few new characters were introduced. I hope I did an ok job.

A BIG BIG BIG Thank You for the reviewers. You guys totally made my day. So please don't stop. I love reviews. :P

Oh... almost forgot: Disclaimer: Nope, do not own Rurouni Kenshin. sigh... It's sad, I know.

With that out of the way, enjoy chapter 2. :)_

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**So It Begins**

She should have known better. She shouldn't have stayed so close to the town. But it had been only for a day. She had gotten lost during her wanderings and dawn had caught up with her. She had hadno choice but to put herself to the ground before the sun truly appeared in the sky with its harmful rays. She didn't think that anything would happen. It was only for a day, ONE day.

_But as she was digging her whole everything had gone completely wrong. She suddenly found herself surrounded by three sorcerers. It was strange to see three in one place. They were usually solitary beings that did not value teamwork. For the first few seconds, they had just stood there intheir black robes, their hoods covering their faces. Thinking the situation over she had realized that the only thing to do was to run and find a safe spot as quickly as possible. With dawn so close, she couldn't afford to fight. But before she could have attempted any kind of an escape, one of the sorcerers had hit her with a blinding spell. At the sudden loss of her sight, she had panicked. Sorcerers usually had to convoke very strong spirits for these kinds of spells to work on vampires. She had never encountered one that could do it as if casting a shield spell, the most basic of spells. _

_From then, it had all been too easy for the sorcerers. They had hit her with lightning spells, weakening her defenses and her natural shields. They had then been able to bind her with highly concentrated silver composed spells that had practically drained her of all her energy. _

_She had quickly realized that these were not normal binding spells. Habitually binding spells with silver content drained one's energy to a certain point to then stabilize with the help of the stolen energy. These didn't stop draining her energy. It kept taking and taking until it felt as if it was ripping out a piece of her soul. She slashed at her opponents blindly trying to hit one. She kept hearing their laughs at her attempts. The mix of fear and pain had almost brought out her inner beast. She had been on the verge of loosing control over it and that was something no vampire wanted to ever see happen. _

_Probably seeing this, the sorcerers had quickly modified the spell to make it so that her own stolen ki was being used to bind her. The more the spell stole of her ki, the more it bound her tightly. _

_Not being able to take the pain, a piercing scream had escaped her. She had felt tears rolling down her cheeks as well as her now loose hair whipping her face. By then her ki had started to lower to dangerous levels. It had suddenly felt too hard to stand, to move, to even breathe. She had slowly fallen to the ground without ever seeing her attackers' faces._

The young women slowly opened blue-silver eyes to be suddenly blinded by a ray of light. First thinking that it was the sun, she let out a faint scream. She quickly realized that the light was not the sun. It was too weak in power and had no effect on her.

Not moving she tried to remember where she was and what had happened. She felt so weak, that her memories seemed all in a jumble. Barely having the strength to move her head, she looked around suddenly realizing that her wrists were attached to the wall she was leaning on. How had she gotten here? She tried breaking free considering they were only chains but didn't have the energy to do so.

Closing her eyes, she scanned her internal ki and realized her level was dangerously low.

Hearing shuffling on the other side of the door, she looked up in time to be met by a pair of eyes, clearly showing fear.

"Vladimir! Go quick to the masters! The prisoner's awake." The person that had spoken was slightly frantic as if he had never had to deal with a vampire.

Everything suddenly came back with that thought. 'He was scared because he had never dealt with a vampire, meaning that he was human, meaning that she was captured. The images about the three sorcerers were not a dream but reality!'

Letting out a small whimper, she started to shake and desperately looking around for a way to escape. The vampire started breathing harder, fear sinking in. Nobody had ever been captured by sorcerers and lived. The pain they inflicted was legendary among her kind. Their torture usually ended with a public burning at dawn in a mock show of justice.

Her attention was pulled back to the door as it was slowly opened. Her three captures stepped in.

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It was close to dawn. Every vampire in the household was getting ready to go to the basement. The guards had been posted, the walls secured, as well as the immense entrance gate. A rather smallish man, with blood red hair held tight in a high pony tale looked around the land that was his to protect with a possessive eye. No one would be entering his estate while he was on guard. His deep amber eyes looked once more to the werewolves that were posted at the gates and gave them a slight node. The guards answered with a salute and didn't break eye contact until he turned around. 

'Sano had done a good job training them', he thought with a smirk gracing his face. From the corner of his eye, he saw Megumi the vampire doctor rushing to get to the basement, closely followed by Yahiko and Tsubame. As a werewolf, he did not have to barricade himself at every dawn. Thankful for that he continued on his way to his bedroom. This night had been successful in the sense that his clan had survived to see another sun down.

He suddenly stopped a couple of steps from his room.

'Something isn't right.'

He felt goose bumps on his arm, the hairs on his neck sticking straight up with alertness. Without any warning, a shattering scream made its way all over the mansion. The small man had to actually double over with the pain it caused. It wasn't only the physical pain the screamed caused his sensitive ears; it was theraw pain that was felt through that scream as if the person was being torn apart. As soon as it had started the scream ended.

Looking up he saw a tall man with chocolate brown hair sticking up in every directionrushing towards him.

"Kenshin! What was that? I've never heard such a scream before. It was like… I don't know, full of pain." Moving his arms around as if that would help him find more adequate words, he looked straight at his leader. The man quickly stopped making any effort to speak seeing as how the small man's eyes in front of him had started to glow a dangerous shade of amber.

The man referred as Kenshin looked up at his commander of the guards and pondered on what should be done. He was annoyed that he could not investigate the scream right away. It was too close to dawn for comfort and not much could be done. He could not leave the others unprotected in their sleep. That would endanger the whole clan and that was unacceptable. Resigning himself to the situation, he turned to his friend.

"Sano, go tell the guards not to worry about the scream. We will deal with that tonight. I'll go talk to the other before they enter their sleep."

Without another glance he turned towards the staircase to make sure that the rest of his clan was alright.

Something had happened on his land. That scream was too close to make it seem otherwise. His hand tightened dangerously around the hilt of his sword. The trespassers would pay. It was his land, his jurisdiction. He was the only one allowed to cause pain to the people here. Nobody touched what was his.

His eyes narrowed, flashing a deep amber. 'Oh yes, the trespassers will pay.' With a determined look, he disappeared down the stairs towards the basement.

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So how was it? It was bad, wasn't it? Or good, you say it was good? Gotta right it down in a review so I know :P 

I apologize, am being silly but please do review )


	3. Explanation

Hello all,

Here's chapter 3 of _The Damned_ and I must say, I had quite a hard time with this one. After writng and rereading, I think it turned out ok. :P

Thank you soooooooooo much for the reviews. I know I've said it before but wow! does it give you motivation to continue writing. I also tried to make my chapters longer because of what one of my reviewers suggested it. See...that's already proof that I read all reviews and take suggestions. :)

So don't be shy when it comes to reviews. :)

I borrowed the term _were _as in werewolffrom one of Ravyn's stories here onFFN (sorry, don't remember the title right now). I liked the term and it was a lot easier than always writing out werewolf. If Ravyn ever reads this I hopethe author of really great fanfiction doesn't mind too much.

Oh yes... disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. Always wish I do but... oh well...let's leave it at that.

Enjoy chapter 3

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Kenshin stood on his balcony looking out at the horizon as the sun was setting. The mix of red, orange and pink made his usually blood-red hair look almost golden. However, lost in his thoughts, Kenshin was far from admiring the view that the setting sun was offering. To say that he was not in a good mood was putting it mildly. Eyes continually shining deep amber, he could not get the scream of that morning out of his mind. The pain encompassed in it conctantly with him. He had not thought it possible that so much raw emotion could have been concentrated in one single scream. These thoughts had not allowed him to rest as he had wished. 

It had been an uneventful day however and that was the only positive thing he could say about it. The _weres_ had stood guard as they were trained to, the people had gone on with their lives without ever being the wiser of their lord's true nature.

'What was that scream? Why had it been so loud? No being I know could have projected it with that amplitude unless something connected it to this place?' He frowned at his thoughts as they went round in circles as they had done for much of the day.

Finally, the sun had set enough for the vampires to be awake. 'They will want answers.'

Last dawn, they had been restless when he had gone to see them. His presence as well as his assurance that nothing would be done 'til the sunset had seemed to calm them. Smirking to himself, Kenshin prided himself on the confidence his clan had in his capabilities to keep them safe. That confidence was something that he would not abuse.

Turning around back to his room, the small man quickly changed into more appropriate clothes than his night robe and then headed to their meeting room.

As he walked through the empty hallways, the servants having left for the night, he thought of how his estate had been in his family for generations. His ancestors had received it as a gift from the king after serving him quite loyally in one of the Great Wars. It had been a time where _weres_ and vampires had been accepted in society and this gift had been looked upon with approval by all the great people in the land. But as the times changed, his family had started impersonating humans, a feat that was easy to accomplish as their species was immune to the sun in a way that vampires were not. The people had forgotten the true nature of their lord and continued living their lives. Kenshin was determined to keep it that way. As far as he was concerned what he was was a minor detail that did not need to be known by the whole population of his land.

Throughout the ages, a clan had formed. Various _weres_ and vampires had joined him seeking refuge in numbers during these trying times. Some had been with him most of his life. The guards had been with his family for generations, their loyalty being passed on to each pup as they came of age. His friend Sano had grown up with him. AsSano became stronger and wiser, although that fact was not always quite evident, Kenshin had felt that it was just right to make him head of the guards.

The vampires had been quite a recent addition to his clan. Natural enemies in the time of his ancestors, the two species had become allies when faced with the more important threat of the sorcerers.

An image to this new found friendship was strangely enough, Sano himself. He had been mated with a vampire for a decade now. Megumi was a good mate for him although much screaming could be heard throughout the household at all times of the night. No matter how much they loved and cherished each other, their interactions with each other were to say the least interesting and at some times almost strained.

'At least one good thing came out of the emergence of the sorcerers,' Kenshin thought.

Frowning at that though, the red-headed _were_ was glad to have arrived to the room. The sorcerers were not something he wanted to think about at the moment. He had more pressing issues like the scream and its source.

All of the household's main seven occupants were already there waiting for him. As he entered, they all looked up ready to decide what would be done. This incident was a matter of clan security.

"As you all know, a scream was heard throughout the estate quite early this morning. We are all here to decide what is to be done. By what was heard, I gather that this was a vampire screaming and not a _were_."

As he said this, Kenshin turned towards a tall vampire that had stood half in shadows, half in light up until then. Seeing that he was being addressed, he stepped forward to reveal himself more clearly to the others. Showing no expression on his face as it was his custom, he slowly began to speak thinking through every single word.

"It is a vampire. I have sent out my scouts to find out if any vampire activity had been noticed around the estate and the nearby towns. By doing this, I have found out another interesting fact." Pausing slightly, he looked directly at Kenshin. "None of the inhabitants outside of the castle walls heard the scream."

A silence greeted his announcement. None had expected that. A grim expression could be seen on all the vampires present. The only sign that Kenshin gavethat he had been affected by this announcementwas the tightening of his fist on the hilt of his sword.

A young woman beside the tall man turned to him pointing confused green eyes.

"Are you sure Aoshi? How is that possible? That scream almost broke my eardrums."

It was Kenshin however that answered her question. "Something links this vampire to the estate. She either has a connection to the land itself or a connection to one of us."

Still frowning with confusion the petite woman continued: "But that still doesn't explain why the scream was only heard in the estate?"

"My God, Misao! For a _were_ you really have no idea about vampire habits, do you?"

The green-eyed girl turned to the person that had spoken so fasther long braid almost whipped the tall man beside her. Her temper flaring, three kunai seemingly appeared out of nowhere and pointing towards a boy that looked to be no more than 13 years old.

"Shut up, blood sucker! As if you, Yahiko-CHAN, knew anything about _were _traditions!"

At receiving the insult, the boy's eyes narrowed dangerously, his face taking on a decidedly redder taint. Ignoring the warning that came from the young girl to his right, he jumped towards Misao.

"I certainly know more about _were_ traditions than you about vampire customs, mutt! AND don't call me LITTLE!"

The argument seemed to go round and round, the same insults being thrown back and forth between the two yelling parties. Just by watching them, one would have thought that they would jump at each others throats at any moment now.

Kenshin having heard enough, decided to put an end to this pointless argument. The yelling was hurting his sensitive ears. Bickering was one of the things he had the least patience for.

"Enough." The command was said in a quiet voice, yet both the boy and girl stopped what they were about to say, slightly paling. It was never a good idea to piss off their lord and clearly he was pissed. His sharp tone of voice was clearly an indication that they had crossed a line that was better off not being neared at all.

"We have more pressing matters to attend."

Yahiko slowly made his way back to his seat and was greeted with a slap on the back of his head by Sano.

"Nice going, Yahiko-CHAN." Sano muttered.

Yahiko seemed to be on the verge of answering back when he caughta glimpse of flaming amber eyes. No, their leader was not pleased this evening. Thinking over what he was about to say, he decided that the wisest thing to do was to shut up and sit quietly from now.

Aoshi having looked at all the happenings with emotionless eyes, turned to Misao to answer her previous question.

"When a vampire feels threatened or is in immense pain, its beast is awakened. It is a last measure of defense and can be very deadly to whoever is attacking said vampire."

"I've never seen the beast of a vampire before."

At that, a snort was heard from the direction of Yahiko, but wisely, he said nothing. Glaring at him, Misao turned back to Aoshi. It was Megumi however that spoke up.

"The beast of a vampire is not like the one of a _were_ that appears once every moon cycle, it is a creature much darker and primitive. When your beast, Misao, appears you keep a certain amount of awareness. Vampires loose complete control on everything they do once their beast is released. Going on a bloody rampage, it is often so powerful that it can never be restrained again. Once our inner beast emerges, it is often considered that that vampire is dead, its consciousness buried deep within it where it can never be retrieved."

A melancholy tone could be heard in Megumi's voice. She had whispered her last sentence, making it almost inaudible to the people present.

"At this point, the vampire is physically killed by its kin. It is the only mercy that our kind can offer these vampires…"

Sano then turned to Megumi. "What has that to do with the scream that was heard this morning?"

"Before or after the beast is unleashed depending on the vampire, it screams a scream that will only reach the closest of kin or its homeland whichever is closer no matter where they are. A kind of farewell, if you will."

Kenshin who had been lost in his thoughts during most of the explanation, looked up to the others and asked: "Among you four, are there any lost kin?"

All four vampires seemed thoughtful at that. They had all lost so many loved ones since the inquisition had started. All of them had two or three kin unaccounted for. It seemed futile to try and guess to whom this vampire could be related to.

Megumi however turned to Kenshin with a determined look in her eyes. "This vampire might be related to any one of us. But one thing is for sure, we still have to look for that vampire. At least, if its beast has truly been freed, we have an obligation to kill it. No vampire deserves to roam this Earth with the constant blood lust."

Kenshin didn't have to think twice on what the proper actions were. He would not have needed the extra persuasion since that scream had haunted him all day. He had been as determined, if not more, as Megumi to find this vampire and understand what had happened for it to unleash such abone-shattering scream, even before this meeting began. As he remembered the pain he had felt during these short moments at dawn, his beast unexpectedly stirred with a possessive feeling. Slightly surprised to why his beast would stir without him ordering to, he quickly restrained it again. Pushing this incident to the back of his mind, he turned back to his clan.

"We will hunt for the lost vampire. Aoshi keep a close contact with your informants. I want to know if anything strange has happened in the towns recently no matter how insignificant it might have seemed at the time. Any kind of vampire activity in my land, I want to know about it. Misao, you will help him. Megumi and Tsubame, stay here in case any news comes your way. Megumi, if we need your medical skills in a hurry, I want to know where I can find you. Sano, gather a group of _weres._ We're going hunting."

At that his eyes became a lighter shade of amber, making them almost glow. His hair seemed to have taken a life of their own as they started to wave around his face with the amount of power emanating from him. He slowly smirked and his incisors had grown giving him a look of pure evil.

At that moment, everyone understood why this man had once been considered a demon by the humans that had had the misfortune to meet him on the battlefield.

He suddenly stood up and headed for his room to change into more appropriate clothes. Walking down the hallway with his hair still flowing back and forth, he continued to smirk at himself.

'Oh yes. We're going hunting.'

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Kaoru sat still as her captures just stood there looking at her. She had froze once the door had opened, her eyes going wide with fear and apprehension. Every single story that she had heard about the infamous sorcerers were passing through her mind. 

'What are they going to do with me?' At this time, she felt like curling into a small ball and hiding in one of the corners of her cell. Tied up like this made her feel completely vulnerable and exposed.

One of the sorcerers that seemed to be quite tall and thin slowly advanced towards her. He kneeled to be at her eyelevel. A pale thin hand was slowly reaching for her face.

Kaoru tried to avoid his touch but her ki being so weak and her movements constrained madeher efforts futile. A cold hand touched her cheek, two fingers going down to her chin and then up again to then slowly come back and grabbing her chin. The sorcerer moved her face right and left as if inspecting it very closely.

"It's such a shame that such a pretty little thing should be condemned to roam this Earth as one of the Damned." A low icy voice said from the darkness of the hood. It was the kind of voice that made her blood frieze and the small hair on her neck rise. She felt such pure evil from that voice. It had never occurred to her that any creature on this Earth could have an aura as his.

The sorcerer suddenly let go of her face and stood up to look down upon her.

"Now my little pet, you will tell us what we want to know or you will suffer." There was an untold promis in his words that made her want to cry out with fear.

Another sorcerer stepped forward, this one small and with a larger built. It seemed that his size was more composed of fat than muscle.

"We know that your kin was the last one to have it. Where is it? Tell us!"

All that Kaoru could do was just stare at them. She had no idea what they were talking about. Frantically, she searched her mind for what they could possibly mean. She had never had anything of value in her possession. Ever since her last of kin had died, she had wandered these lands avoiding any contact with any being whether it be human, vampire or werewolf. She had only clothes and a few knickknacks picked up here and there.

Getting impatient the third sorcerer stepped forward and slapped her hard. He had been so brutal that she had started seeing white spots all around her. Kaoru could still hear the resounding smack of the slap.

"Answer us vampire! Where. Did. You. Hide. It?" the same sorcerer that had slapped her asked.

Realizing that they were waiting for an answer, Kaoru slowly looked up.

"I…I don't know…what you're looking for." Another slap greeted her response and her head snapped back, this time hitting the stone wall behind her.

"Do not toy with us vampire. Tell us where the medallion is NOW!" the first sorcerer said.

Kaoru could clearly hear the underlying threat in his words and yet there was nothing she could do about it. She had never owned a medallion in the first place.

Unclear of what to do, the young girl bowed her head. "I've…I've never had a medallion."

Clearly that was the wrong thing to say because in the next moment the door to the cell swung open to let two guards in.

The fat sorcerer pointed a finger in her direction. "Take it to the interrogation room. We will have to deal with it with more extreme measures. That bitch is quite stubborn."

At that she quickly looked up to protest but had barely the time to register what was happening. The guards were unlocking the chains around her wrists and hauling her up by her arms.

She suddenly felt anger rise in her at the injustice of her situation. Clearly they had thought her in possession of something special which was really not the case. She didn't have what they wanted. She just wanted to continue her wanderings. She had hurt no one, had fed on animals for the most part. What was happening to her was just not fair.

Not knowing where she found her energy, the young vampire started to struggle in the arms of those idiot guards.

"Let me go! I do not have what you want. I'm not the one you are looking for. I've never had a locket or medallion in my life. You son of a bitches! Let me go NOW!

Kicking and screaming, she fought with every fiber of her being to free herself. She tried to bight one of the guards in the arm but before she could reach him one of the sorcerers hit her with one of those strange silver content binding spells

"NO! Not…again…"

This time there was no scream, the little energy she had had gone in an instant. The young vampire quickly fainted, the extremepain she was in unbearable. Her body twitching once or twice just to become completely still the next moment. The door to her old cell was slammed closed as the three sorcerers followed the guards.

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Soooooo? What did you think? Too long, too short, what? Please let me know. :P 

missy-oa '-'


	4. Escape

Hello all!

Here is chapter 4. This took a little longer than I thought it would. Had to finish summer school (sigh) and find a job. Enough complaining.

Thanks again for all your reviews. I really can't say it enough.

Oh yes: dislclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin sigh... enough said :P

Enjoy chapter 4:)

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**_Escape_**

A red figure was running through the branches seemingly without making any noise. To anybody watching, it appeared as if the branches of the trees and underbrush moved away from the person on their own accord. However no human could follow the movements of this being. Kenshin was not known for his slow reflexes.

A little behind him, brown figures were spread out on his right and left. As one, the group moved trough the forest with a specific purpose. Sniffing the air for any disturbance that had been made in the recent past, the werewolves covered ground efficiently without missing a beat.

Gritting his teeth, Kenshin's mood was not improving in the least. There was a hard edge to his eyes that had not been there before.

'Damn this! We've been searching for an hour and still no sign of anything.' They had already covered the east side of his territory and were now beginning on the north-west. The trees were thicker in that area yet still very habitable. The existence of numerous small villages in the region proved that fact.

'_Aoshi! Where are you?'_ Kenshin knew that his impatience could be felt through the telepathic link however he was far from caringfor niceties in a time like this. He wanted some answersconcerning this mystery scream and he wanted them 20 minutes ago.

'_Misao and I are in a small village in the far North near the border_,' came the calm reply. The iciness in the speaker's voice was unmistakable.

'_Have you found anything of interest?'_

'_A young farmer saw a black carriage rolling away at dawn. The villagers thought it was one of yours and didn't think much about it. It is the reason this fact didn't come to our attention earlier.'_

While avoiding a low branch from one of the trees, Kenshin didn't miss a beat in his reply.

'_Is its origin known?'_

'_No.'_

Suddenly stopping in his tracks, Kenshin lifted his right hand and so ordered his pack to halt. Thinking over his options, he quickly realized that this was probably his strongest lead.

'_Where are you?'_

'_The village is called Weisswasser.'_

'_We're on our way.'_

Turning towards the north, Battosai led the way. The village wasn't too far since they had been already traveling northwards. He picked up the pace anyways wanting to be there as soon as possible. It seemed there had truly been trespassers on his lands. Whether the scream and this incident were related still remained to be seen, however this was too much of a coincidence. His instincts were telling him that his answers were going to be there. The fact that the land bordering his to the north was in the hands of inquisitors did not help matters. They would have to tread carefully if they didn't want to get noticed by the sorcerer's council.

Grinning to himself, Kenshin couldn't help but look forward to the challenge. As he had thought before, it had been a while since he had gone on a good hunt.

* * *

Kaoru awoke to find herself in another cell with the difference that this one had a window and that she was now hanging from the ceiling by her wrists; her feet barely touching the ground. The sorcerer's spellbinding had been taken off. She supposed they thought her too weak to attempt any kind of escape. They weren't necessarily wrong but hell would have to freeze over before that would stop her. However the manacles were digging into her wrists hard. 

She could feel two guards on the other side of the door. They were nervous and on edge. It would have been easy to take them out if she hadn't been so weak. Out running them when the time came seemed to be her only option. Quietly she tested the chains, however the little strength she had did not allow her to just rip them out of the ceiling. Thinking over her situation, she started sensing for any kind of magic that was in the cell. There was a magic lock on the door and the window had some kind of barrier in front of it. The door would be impossible to open without knowing the original spell. Any kind of combination could have been used to protect it.

'Scratch the idea of outrunning the guards.' she thought annoyed.

The barrier on the window was another matter. That could be easily broken with time, which was something she did not have. There was no way of telling when the sorcerers would come back for her "questioning" and "trial." There was no time to loose.

Careful as to not make any sound, she made her hands as small as possible to slip off the chains. One hand slowly came loose and then the other. With the sudden loss of support, Kaoru slumped to the floor slightly panting with the effort.

'Strange that no mage power were in those chains. They must think me weaker than I am.'

Quickly scanning her body for any injuries, she crawled to the closest wall to slowly attempt to stand. The sorcerers it seemed had been content to weaken her body only. Thinking over the binding, the young vampire shuddered at the feeling it had caused, a feeling that her whole energy was being drained away and that it would never come back. Fear suddenly washed over her. If these sorcerers had been capable to morph a simple binding spell into that terrible thing, what else could they have done?

'Well, I'm not going to stay here long enough to find out. That barrier's goin' down one way or another'

Kaoru couldn't help wondering though where the sorcerers had gone. They had been so adamant that she tell them about that medallion, it seemed strange that they would leave her alone so long. Slowly walking around the cell to get back some strength, she pushed that thought to the back of her mind. She would worry about that when she was safely in the woods. Right now she needed her strength to be able to work on that spell.

* * *

They had been running at a fast past for the last 15 minutes. Kenshin had calculated that they would arrive at the village in about five minutes if they kept up the pace. Even if he could sense the tiredness of his pack, he couldn't make himself slow down. That scream seemed to be haunting him with a determination that he had hardly ever experienced in his lifetime. The _were_ lord couldn't help wonder if the scream hadn't been destined for him. Pushing that thought away, he stopped in his tracks. The area he was in had been recently touched by dark magic, very recently. 

'_Aoshi, travel a couple of meters south from the village. I think you should be here.'_

The answer came without betraying any kind of emotion. '_We will come now_.'

Turning towards Sano he asked: "Do you feel that?"

"What the hell is that? The smell is foul enough to want me to puke."

"It's dark magic. It has tainted the area. Some dark magic was used here very recently."

His pack was huddled together feeling uneasy. Their hairs were on end and their instincts were screaming at them to run from this place. Everything from the movement of the branches in the wind to the soft rattle of the dry leaves on the ground seemed to be a warning, a warning to stay away and to never come back.

Kenshin took no heed of all of this.

"Spread around this area in groups of two and pinpoint the origin of the magic."

Loyal to their lord the pack separated. Sano pairing up with Kenshin could see that his friend was putting a lot of energy into this hunt. Slightly confused as to why that would be, he kept his thoughts to himself since he didn't think that now was the time to ask for explanations.

He suddenly felt a surge of dark magic to his left.

Kenshin also feeling it turned and rushed to that area with his natural speed. As he approached the place, he felt a coldness seep into his bones that he had only felt once before a long time ago. He was distracted from his thoughts by what he found in front of him.

He could not quite understand what had happened here. There seemed to be a half dug whole. Small foot prints could be seen inside. Somebody had stood there for quite some time. Looking closer he sawan indentation in the ground that was left by a body. Whoever had stood there had fallen to the ground at some point.

"Hey Kenshin! Look at this." Kenshin could see that Sano was pointing at three other pairs of foot prints all around the whole. There was an elaborate "S" imprinted in the middle of each shoe print.

"The vampire was probably surrounded by the sorcerers. A total ambush.", Sano said with disgust clear in his voice.

"My lord! Over here!" shouted one of his guards.

Arriving at the place in question, tracks left by a carriage could be distinguished. By how deep they were, Kenshin guessed that it had been a large and heavy carriage, a kind of carriage that was meant to carry prisoners.

Complete repulsion filled his being at the idea that one of their kind had been attacked and captured in this brutal and traitorous manner. Not to mention that it had been done on his land.

'My land! My territory to protect! My people to ensure the safety of!'

His fist clenched, he turned his mind towards Aoshi. '_We have found tracks_. _We believe that it will lead us to the captured vampire. We will start following it. Make your way towards us.'_

'_Misao and I will follow the pack.'_

'_Be careful of your surroundings. It seems that we are dealing with three sorcerers and not just one.'_

'_Understood.',_ came the short reply.

They were back on the road in a matter of moments. Every _were_ present just wanted to get as far away from that area as quickly as possible.

Kenshin soon realized that the tracks were leading them out of his territory to the land on his northern border. 'This just gets better and better.' Kenshin thought sarcastically.

* * *

After pacing around the cell a good five times, Kaoru felt herself strong enough to attempt to unravel the spell that was on the window. Slowly nearing the window, she closed her eyes to study its pattern and how it had been placed. Not a lot of energy had been used to place it but its pattern was complex and any magic user could easily get confused in its labyrinth. 

Concentrating hard, Kaoru started weaving patterns in the air as well as chanting a southing song that was meant to make the spell less hostile to her touch. With every wave of her hand, it seemed that she was getting closer to the core of the spell. The closer she got, the clearer the spell became to the naked eye. A bright light started surrounding the window and her form. It surly would have blinded her if she would have been fool enough to open her eyes at that moment.

Putting all the little energy she had into coaxing it to open up for her, Kaoru didn't notice the little movement behind.

"Efgeny! The demon is trying to escape! Sound the alarm!" Noticing the light, a guard had spied her during her work from the little opening that existed in the door.

Realizing that she had been found out, she doubled her efforts to break the spell. She was so close; she could practically taste the opening on her tongue. Three more swipes of her hand and she felt the light suddenly disappear, leaving her slightly stunned.

The door swung open with a lowed bang as it hit the wall. Two guards entered the cell swords drawn. She might have been worried but the clear expression of fear on their faces showed her how unwilling they were to engage in an attack. Despite that one guard lunged at her and was able to nick her cheek. Feeling the drops of blood rolling down her face, Kaoru twisted her body to the left and out of reach from his weapon.

From there, trying to reach the window as quickly as possible, the young vampire didn't expect the other guard to attack her then. She heard more than felt the blade rip through her skin and into her shoulder. Screaming out in pain, she fell against the window. Realizing that this was her only option, Kaoru let herself fall from the window. He freefall was long since they had put her in the tower that was bordering a cliff. Twisting in midair not minding the sword that was still imbedded in her shoulder she quickly registered that the cliff itself bordered a forest.

'The forest…' she thought with relief. 'A place to hide…'

She saw the trees coming closer and closer. Using the last bit of strength that was left in her, she pictured mist in her mind forcing herself to transform into vapor. Right at the moment she would have been impaled by a tree, her body dissolved into air and floated calmly to the ground. As she materialized on the ground, her shoulder was aching so badly she thought she would pass out.

"No! Will NOT faint, AGAIN! I have to get out of here. As far away from this place as possible." The determination could be heard in her voice as well as the desperation to escape from her captures. That fear alone gave her the adrenaline to go on.

Finding the sword that had caused her so much harm beside her, Kaoru used it to slowly get up to her feet.

"I WILL survive this like I have survived everything else in my life." Her jaw set with determination, she slowly made her way away from the castle to kami knew where.

* * *

"Mmmmmyyyy lord…the deeeemmon has essscapped." The guard chosen to announce this information to the sorcerers was trembling so hard, he could not speak properly. Standing in front of the three hooded figures, he thought he was going to embarrass himself any minute now. 

"IT WHAT!" screamed the fat sorcerer. "YOU WERE IN CHARGE OF KEEPING WATCH OVER HER!"

"I apologize mmmmmy llllord. It will not happpppen again."

The tall thin one slowly approached the guard his eyes practically boring into the man in front of him.

"Do you realize that your incompetence has endangered all the inhabitants of this land. You have allowed one of the damned to roam freely, to murder women and children and you dare stare in front of us and apologize! Assuring us that it will never happen again!"

Shamed by what had just been said, the guard fell to his knees and begged for forgiveness.

"You do not deserve forgiveness. Do you realize that you have endangered your people? What do you think the punishment should be?"

A sword suddenly appeared out of thin air in front of the guard. The guard felt like everything around him disappeared, leaving him alone with the sorcerer in front of him.

"Would you think yourself worthy of continuing your life when you know you have shamed yourself in such a way?...You know what has to be done."

The guard took the sword from the air. Holding it at eyelevel for a couple of seconds, he suddenly plunged the blade into his heart to then fall over dead.

The tall sorcerer then turned to the second guard that had stood in the shadows up to this point. His face had gone completely white, his lips almost looking blue.

"Take this as a warning soldier. Do not fail us again. You are now the captain of the guards."

The guard left the room on shaky legs.

"Our master will not be pleased," stated the fat sorcerer.

"Yes he will not be happy. However, this might be work to our advantage," answered the tall one.

"How so?" came the confused question from the fat sorcerer.

"Sensing the medallion in danger, she might just lead us to where she has hidden it."

Turning towards the third sorcerer, he ordered: "Start sweeping the forest. I want her trace found. It shouldn't be hard. I heard that soldier over there wounded her. Blood is always so distinctive."

With that, he left the room without sparing his companion another glance.

* * *

Well? What do you guys think? Good/ Bad? Let me know if you still like where I'm going with this story.

I also realized writing this chapter that this story might be a little longer than I thought it would. Oh, a little preview for next chapter: Kenshin and Kaoru meet :P

Don't forget to review!

Toodles - missy-oa :)


	5. Meeting

Hello everyone,

Here's chapter 5 of _The Damned._ This chapter sort of wrote itself and it just kind of came out on the screen.

There's not much to say about this chapter only that '---' will show the change of POV since for some reason the ruler didn't seem to work on ffn while I was editing this.

Hope you enjoy it. :P

---

_**Meeting**_

Kaoru was trudging on, leaning heavily on the sword at her hand. Her breathing was laboured and it felt as if her legs would give way at any moment now. The only thing that kept her going was the fear that enveloped her. The hidden faces behind those hoods; the long thin hand; the cold touch on her face; the feeling of helplessness that had invaded her; these were all things she feared. She knew if they took her captive again she would never see the light of night, never again experience a cool wind on her cheack as the moon shone overhead. The next thing she would see was the hot inferno of the sun burning into her very skin, burning her slowly as the day got brighter in front of a public that saw her as a monster born out of the depth of Hell.

Shuddering at her gloomy thoughts, she forced herself to only concentrate on what she was doing now: to get as far away from that castle as possible. Looking up at the dark sky, she guessed that she still had a good 3 hours before dawn would be upon her. She paused for a second, finding comfort from the playful stars above her and the cool rays of the moon. She had always found comfort in the skies above. Her father had once told her that the stars were the very souls of every single being that had passed away. She had found a childish pleasure in guessing whether that start was a dog or a pig. She had also long ago decided that the North Star was an ant. Her father had laughed at her logic as she had calmly explained that since the ant was the smallest creature she knew it must be the brightest star in the sky, just to be fair.

Now looking up, she tried to guess which one was her father's. Kami knew that she needed some reassurance from somewhere. Shaking her head as if to clear those ridiculous childish notions, she looked straightforward and continued her way. A sudden weariness came over her. It suddenly hit her that she was all alone in the world. If she would be captured again and died as a result of that no one would miss her. She felt a familiar pricking in her eye. Quickly closing them as to let no tears fall, she pushed on forward with more determination.

"Stop this Kamiya. Self-pity was not something your father taught you. Strength of character, determination, never giving up; those are the things he taught you. Stop being a baby!"

Taking a deep breath, she continued to trudge herself through the forest. Looking back, she realized that the little path she had created for herself had vanished. In its place were low tree branches and thick underbrush. She quickly realized that the forest was hiding her.

Smiling to herself, Kaoru put one her hands on the tree beside her. "Thank you." She whispered and continued on her way with a lighter heart. She was not as alone as she thought she was.

---

They were getting closer. Kenshin could feel it in every pore of his being. It was about time as well since dawn was quickly approaching. They had been traveling into the neighbouring land for two hours now. Their destination was bound to appear soon.

He could also feel his pack on edge. None wanted to be here. These forests had been tainted by the inquisitors' dark magic. He could feel every being suffer because of it. They knew they were slowly dying. It was only a matter of time.

Looking up at the sky, he guessed that they maybe had 2 and a half hours of darkness left. They would travel for another hour and then start looking for a safe place for Aoshi to rest. He and Misao had joined them at the border.

'_There is a vampire near. I can feel its presence._ Aoshi's thought came in his mind loud and clear.'

'_Do you know where it is?'_

'_It is coming from our left. It is however quite faint. It must be very weak. I cannot determine whether it is male or female.'_

Kenshin made a sign to Sano and the whole pack started to turn left. He also ordered them to slow down their pace. If that was the vampire they had been looking for, chances were that the inquisitors were not too far away.

Sending a message to the others to be on their guards, he ordered six of them to transform in their wolf form. Being in these forms would serve their purpose well. It enhanced their animal instincts making it easier for them to sense danger or anything out of place.

He suddenly stopped. Something had tickled his sensitive nose. The whole pack immobilized around him. Sensing that their lord's attention was elsewhere, every single member stayed silent and still.

'What was that smell?'He took a deep sniff and look slightly taken aback at what he recognized as being the smell of jasmine. 'There is no jasmine in this forest.'

He took another breath of it just to make sure.

"Kenshin, what's wrong?" Sano, slightly worried, turned towards his friend wondering what had gone into him. He had suddenly straightened just to then jump back as if he had been burnt.

Kenshin suddenly transformed into his beast. Where he had been standing just a moment ago was now a wolf whose shoulders reached Sano's chest. His fur was a deep brown with slightly red highlights here and there. His face and paws and tale were a midnight black. Raw power seemed to emanate from his very being, clearly stating that if anything stood in his path he would not hesitate to destroy it.

Sano made as if to follow but was stopped by a deep growl. Clearly Kenshin wanted to do this on his own. As he saw the tall wolf figure disappear into the forest ahead of them, he turned to his companions at a complete loss of what had just happened. Sniffing the air of what had caught his attention, he couldn't distinguish anything out of the ordinary except of course the stink of dark magic. Strangely enough, the only one out of the group that didn't seem to show any kind of emotion towards what had just happened was Aoshi. The vampire just stood in the shadows looking at the fading figure of Kenshin. If someone had looked closer they might have seen the slight knowing glint in his black eyes or the smallest hint of a smile on his stony face. As it were, everyone was distracted by the fact that their leader had gone into unknown territory on his own, without the support of his pack.

---

Kaoru leaned against a tree trying to catch her breath. She could feel the thirst growing stronger and stronger inside of her. Her fangs were coming out at any sign of a living creature. However, she felt too weak to try to catch any of them. The wound at her shoulder was still trickling blood down her arm and her body could not start the healing process if it didn't get the blood it needed soon.

Taking a deep breath, she pushed herself off of the tree. Stopping in mid-step, she turned to her right. There had been a noise from that direction. She was sure of it. Fear started to rise from the pit of her stomach. Looking around, Kaoru found a bush that was particularly thick with leaves. Painfully crawling into it, she stayed as immobile as possible. Holding her breath, she looked into herself to see if she had any magic left. She could maybe muster an invisibility spell, however she would only be able to hold it for 30 seconds at the most. Timing would have to perfect for this to work.

Not moving, she kept her ears and eyes wide open. Only silence greeted her. It was as if the whole forest was holding its breath. The tension was starting to become unbearable. Kaoru felt as if her heart would jump out of her chest at any moment now, it was beating so fast.

'What if it was the sorcerers? Could they have found her so easily even with the help of the forest? I won't go back. I can't go back.'

Kaoru tried to desperately keep herself from shaking.

---

He had to find the source of that smell. Every instinct was practically yelling at him to do so. All Kenshin was certain of was that he had never smelled something so sweet. Somehow he knew he never would again.

Quietly approaching the area from where it came from, he tried to distinguish the creature. There was nothing there. Complete silence was all that was there. The smell of Jasmine was everywhere. It had been here recently. Moving as stealthy as he could, which was not an easy feat considering his size, he got closer to what he thought was its source. Suddenly stopping in his tracks, Kenshin detected blood on one of the trees. It was still wet and warm.

Realizing what it meant, his anger rose with every step he took. It was wounded. That creature with the wonderful smell was wounded. He would not let this act stay unpunished. Kenshin would never know what instinct pushed him to look down. But he did and what he saw was a single strand of long black hair. As his eyes followed it to its root, he smelled more than saw the form that was crouched in the bush right to his left. He crouched low so that he was lying on his stomach a found deep blue eyes that were staring right at him.

---

Kaoru didn't know what to do. Recognizing the creature as a werewolf, she just kept on staring into his amber eyes. Not sure if this creature was friend or foe, she did the only thing she thought she could do: she stayed completely still. Running in her condition was out of the question. A werewolf transformed would hardly break a sweat catching her. This one also looked as if hardly anything would make him break a sweat. He, for clearly he was a male, was the biggest werewolf she had ever seen. Most _weres_ were slightly larger than normal wolves allowing them to hide among wolves very easily in case the inquisitors were looking for them. But this one…There was no way he could pretend to be a wolf.

She couldn't help thinking that if she died right now she would die with having seen one of the most beautiful creature she had ever laid her eyes on. His fur seemed to shine in the moonlight and she craved to touch it. It seemed so warm and soft.

The _were_ suddenly started to crawl forward so that his nose was almost touching hers. Petrified, she didn't dare move away. Suddenly, his tongue licked her right on her cheek. Her fear forgotten, she recoiled from him. She had not expected _this._ The _were_ seemed to be laughing at her.

Caution now completely thrown to the wind, she slowly crawled out of her hiding spot.

---

As she was coming out, Kenshin could see that her shoulder was still bleeding heavily. He looked on with concern as he noticed her laboured breathing. Her face was extremely pale even for a vampire. Sensing her weakness, he came closer to allow her to use his shoulder to lean. It was then that he noticed the sword she was holding in her hand. Bloody from recent use, he stared at her with more respect than he had a couple of moments ago. Clearly this vampire not only had the most enticing smell about her that he had ever had the pleasure to sniff but had also a great fighting spirit. But the way she was leaning both on him and sword told him plenty on how long she could keep up this façade.

"Thank you," she said. The first words that he heard her speak. They were spoken shakily and with a hint of mistrust.

She backed away from him still leaning on that damned sword.

'She should be leaning on _me_. On nothing else but _me_,' came the thought unbidden.

"Now you should tell me who you are. And where is your pack? No _were _ever travels alone unless he has been banished. That hardly ever happens if I remember my _were_ traditions correctly."

Kenshin moved out of the way and quickly transformed to his human form. Having a naked man in front of her didn't seem to faze her much. He could however distinguish a slight blush that had not been there before.

"My name is Kenshin. My pack is a bit behind me and will not come unless I call them. We have been hunting for a vampire captured by inquisitors. Our pack believes that they have taken their prisoner to this area."

At his words, she paled even more if it were possible.

"What do you want with that vampire? It is not part of your pack, it is not your responsibility."

"That may be true but it was taken on _my_ land, _my_ territory to protect. I couldn't let that pass unpunished. The sorcerers cannot be allowed to have free rain over every piece of land they enter. And how the world is now our kind have to help each other."

A bitter smile crept up on her face. The bright stars in her eyes dulled. He couldn't help but think that he would never want to see that look on her face again.

"'Our kind have to help each other'? While that sentiment is noble, I doubt that 'our kind' as you say think the same way."

This was said in a bitter tone and Kenshin couldn't help but wonder at what had happened to make her have such a dark perspective on things. But he had seen rogue _weres_ and their lack of morals as well as crazed vampires attacking every single being whether _were, _vampire or human just to get a drop of blood. Not every being had been lucky to have ancestors that had foreseen in what direction the world was moving to.

He stepped closer to her but was stopped as the sword she had been leaning on was suddenly pointing towards his throat.

"Don't come any closer! I don't know you. I don't know what you want. I have nothing valuable with me. So I…cannot repay you…in any way if…you help me. You better…move along."

The last sentences were said with her taking deep breaths and trying to hold her sword steady. Her face had considerably paled if that was possible and he could see drops of sweat slowly making their way down her face.

"You are not in any condition to fight me. Chances are that you will faint before this is over. Conserve the little strength you have. Put down the sword."

As he had said this, he was slowly stepping closer to her. The sword was easily pushed away. He knew she couldn't wield that sword in the state she was in.

---

She tried to move back but her strength faltered. Kenshin moved with all the speed contained him to catch her by the shoulders.

Kaoru tried to fight back. He was an unknown _were_. He couldn't be trusted. As she tried to push him away, it seemed like his grip on her became tighter. He was so close that she could feel his breathing on her neck. Panic started to build inside her. The first rule of fighting was to never let your neck exposed. Her father had taught her that when she was 8. And now he could rip her throat out so easily.

His grip became a full embrace pinning her arms to her side.

"You have nothing to fear from me…Let me help you."

It was said in almost a whisper. It seemed so sincere, so genuine. Kaoru wanted to believe him, wanted to accept what he was saying as the truth. In the end those words were her undoing. She stopped fighting and just stood there in his arms, leaning most of her weight on him.

Kaoru had reached her limit in the kind of emotions she could bear at once. She had moved from fear to terror to relief to then come back to fear. Everything was crazy. The events of the past 24 hours were suddenly hitting her hard and all she wanted to do was to hide in a corner to never be seen again.

With the lack of a corner to hide, she just hid in his arms instead. Kaoru didn't care anymore if this strange _were _wanted to kill her or eat her or whatever _weres_ did with vampires these days. All she could understand right now was that his arms were strong, comforting, warm. She gave up the fight and let darkness engulf her.

---

Kenshin registered the moment she past out in his arms. Careful not to hit her injured arm, he lifted her in his arms and headed back to his pack. The important thing right now was to get this girl to Megumi as quickly as possible. Her wound was still bleeding hard and she would know how to deal with a vampire better than he.

He would have to ask Aoshi to transport her in the vampire way since that would save time and probably her life. She would not be able to stand the long journey back to his estate by land.

---

A dark man sat on a throne facing away from the great hall behind him. A robe hid his figure from the world and the only sign that it was actually alive was the rhythmic movement of his bandaged hand over what seemed like a bowl full of water. That water seemed completely black and lacked any kind of movement. It was as if it was completely frozen. The dark figure's head was intently looking into the dark water. He made as if to grab something in the surface as his crooked finger moved towards the dark liquid. It slowly entered the boll to then being pulled out covered by that liquid. It was then that one noticed that the water or what might have thought to be water was not black but dark red. The excess blood dripped down his finger to make ripples throughout the surface.

His breathing then became more laboured. It seemed as if he was going to fall over at any moment now. Grabbing on to the bowl he breathed out a calm hissing breath over the blood. As he kept repeating this over and over again the blood seemed to become clearer and clearer letting an image form itself into its depth. The image however seemed to stay unfocused. The hissing breath came out stronger and stronger but nothing seemed to prevail. In fact, the blood slowly reverted to its dark, opaque colour.

The dark sorcerer leaned back against the back of his throne, breathing heavily. Both his hands were shaking on the armrests.

Suddenly , he let out a furious cry that reverberated on each of the walls of his domain. Complete silence surrounded him. Any being in the vicinity who would have heard that scream what have right away understood what it meant and knew that it was better to stay away.

It was the sound of a hunter loosing its prey.

----

Well? What did you guys think? Really bad? OK? Good? Very good? Too many changes of POV?

As always, don't be shy with reviews.

'Til next time, missy-oa :)


	6. Hunt

Hello all,

After a long wait here is finally chapter 6 of _The Damned_. It took me a while but it's done. I would just like to thank my last reviewer. He/She really pushed me to finish this chapter since I was lazy until then.

Sorry again for the delay and Enjoy : P

* * *

_**Hunt**_

_As she opened her eyes, darkness greeted her. It was oppressing and menacing; two feelings that she had never associated with the dark. She had always loved the dark, always felt at home in it. It was her place of comfort. Nobody had been able to touch her in that realm. Since her parents' death, of course… That had been so long ago. And yet, in this blackness, it felt like it had happened just moments ago. Memories were flashing all around her. Her mother's smile when they slept in each others arms, her father training her with fierce determination "No daughter of his was going to be weak and not be able to defend herself when the need arose." Their love washed over her to be quickly replaced by torches at dawn coming closer and closer. Her father yelling at her to hide in the underground tunnel until the next nightfall; Her mother carrying her towards the bottom of the house, pushing her into the tunnel and closing the trap behind her. Kaoru had also been surrounded by darkness then. It hadn't been silent though. It hadn't been silent for a long time._

_She tried to escape her memories, tried to look, to feel beyond herself. It was impossible. She was all alone. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. Panic was slowly making its presence felt. She was panting even though technically she didn't need to breath. Kaoru tried desperately to pierce the darkness all around her. She was hearing whimpers and soft screams. It was only when the coldness started to seep into her bones that she realized that she was the one making these noises._

"_There's no way out! No way out! No way out, no way out, no way out, no way out, no… way…out… out…out…out…"_

_The air all around her was so cold. Pulling herself into the foetal position, she tried to fend off the chilling air. She could feel tears rolling down her cheeks Kaoru had thought she was not able to cry anymore. However, the tears kept on flowing. It felt as if she would never feel warm again._

_It was then that she felt a soft, warm touch wipe away her tears. The comforting touch stayed on her cheek until the tears **stopped**. The touch seemed then to envelope her completely, keeping her warm and away from the frigid air. The darkness became the comforting being she had known all her life. It wasn't frightening anymore. In this warmth, it seemed impossible to feel any fear. A calming peace swept through her whole being, something she had not felt since her mother's embrace or her father's protecting hand._

_Her heart beat calmed itself. Her mind drifted towards the darkness where rest was assured._

* * *

The young vampiress had finally calmed. Shortly after Megumi had finished bandaging her wounds and making her sip a cup of medicine, she had become agitated almost falling off the king-sized bed that was in the guest room in the basement. It was around that time that the pack had finally made it back to the estate. Aoshi had telepathically transported the girl and himself to not loose time. Kenshin had arrived to the room to find her kicking her comforters and silently whimpering. Tears had streaked down her cheeks. 

Unnerved by these simple tears, he had been at a loss at what to do. Unexpected pain lanced through his chest. Whipping away her tears, his hand lingered there, unable to move. It was then that he realized that despite the many blankets that covered her, her skin was still icy cold. With all the speed that he possessed, he built the fire in the chimney as high as it would go.

Kenshin stood above her slight form a little while longer, his hands back on her cheek. He could feel her whole body still shivering. The tears had started up again. Without even hesitating for a moment, the were lord stripped completely to then settle around the vampiress' trembling body. Moulding his body to hers, he held onto her. A fierce possessiveness took hold of him, building until he could not imagine this young woman ever not being in his life.

"You are safe now." He whispered with soft tenderness. If anybody had heard him at this moment, nobody would have recognized this voice to the usually stern one of their leader and protector.

"No one will harm you in this place. I won't allow it. You will stay by my side where you belong."

His arms tightened around her waist. How long they staid this way, he could not tell. However a slight smile of satisfaction touched his face as she stopped shivering and she snuggled closer to his heat.

* * *

The sorcerers stood together in the woods. Her trace had easily been found at the base of the castle. Not trusting the guards, the men had set out on their own. Their master would not tolerate another mistake like the one they had done. They were to trust only their abilities. Others were inferior to their intellect and only useful for the most common of tasks. That medallion had to be found and its power harnessed if the war against these abominations should be won. These damned creatures of the night could not be allowed to live. 

However, the sorcerers were not able to continue their pursuit. They had found an area where a lot of blood lay on the ground as well as on a couple of trees. The bushes around the small clearing had also been disturbed. Strangely enough, the trail ended there. No blood had trickled down one specific direction like it had been the case ever since they had left the castle. This demon was proving to be more of a complication than they had originally thought.

"Where DID IT go?!", the large sorcerer exclaimed, his temper rising. Disgusted with their lack of success, he could not stand still. He kept pacing from one side of the clearing to the other, trying to find a clue that would indicate which way it had gone. With every moment, he could feel himself loosing his cool. This creature could not be allowed to escape. It held the key to the destruction of its kind.

"Marius. Stop." It was said with a calm voice by the tall and thin sorcerer. "It is obvious that something helped it escape. It was too injured to generate such a sudden disappearance."

Marius had stopped his pacing the moment the command was said. Turning towards his companion, he asked: "Who would help it, Marius? It had no connection to any of its kind and was just running wild creating mayhem wherever it went. Its life was solitary. This was confirmed by our master himself. No one would know better than he."

"I don't know how it did it but I know from the quantity of blood that it lost since the castle, it would not have had the strength to perform such a feat."

"What do you suggest we do Sergei?"

The third sorcerer that had stayed silent up until this moment spoke up. "We must perform a tracking spell. Whoever helped this creature escape used magic. Its disappearance would not have been so complete if it had been otherwise."

The sorcerers looked at each other with glum faces. Tracking spells were among the most difficult spells even for the most experienced magic user. The tracking spell itself would not just vanish once they had found the individual. It would stick to person or object until the sorcerers would die. Until then, they would be able to find that person wherever it would be during their entire lifespan. It would however continue to drain a small amount of energy throughout their lives. Tracking spells were used only in the most dire of circumstances since they were permanent, the spell broke when the spell casters died.

Not hesitating, the sorcerers formed a triangle around the part of the clearing that had the most blood and began centering their energy into themselves. Each grabbing some dirt with some blood, they held their arm out so that their knuckles touched in the middle of the area.

Sweat could be seen trickling down their brows as they kept harnessing more and more energy. The energy in them became so strong that their eyes turned pitch black and their outstretched arms started to shake.

A black fume started to spread all around them, originating from their closed fists. The trees surrounding the area started at first to loose their leaves, to then slowly die, their bark becoming smooth and white as if lightning had struck them. The grass under their feet became dry and yellow. The bushes wilted and became mere dry sticks. It seemed that once the toxic fumes touched any living creature whether plant or animal, it would die instantly.

The sorcerers, not caring of what was happening around them, continued to focus only on what they were doing. The fume clung to them like a second skin, helping them control the dark powers that they were gathering.

Suddenly, Marius opened his mouth as wide as possible. No tongue could be seen. It was just a black whole. Dark energy beamed out of his mouth, directly to his fist. The other two quickly followed suit until the middle beam was thick, black and heavy with dark magic.

Their heads were pulled back, as if held by an invisible hand. The angle was unnatural and it looked as if their necks were about to break at any moment. The middle beam followed the direction of their eyes and moved skyward, forming a dark commit, destroying everything in touched.

The sorcerers sank to the now dead ground. The tracking spell was cast and all was left to do was wait.

* * *

Kenshin woke with a start. He felt it immediately. Something dark and powerful had disturbed his barriers. Eyes glowing amber, he snarled at the threat that was nearing what was his. His woman, his pack, his people, his land. 

Standing quickly, he put the strongest barriers around this room, thankful that it was underground and that nature would add its protection.

Climbing the steps two at a time, he stepped out on the battlements and scanned the sky. He had never felt such power. It was coming fast, very fast. The guards felt unease but could not associate it with anything. Sano was rushing towards him.

"Do you feel it? It's coming from the North, and fast." Sano could see that Kenshin was on edge, practically growling out load. His eyes were as amber as they got, practically glowing in broad daylight. His red mane was practically cracking with energy. His knuckles were fisted at his side as he continued to stare towards the North.

Sano had never seen him on the verge of loosing control when faced with a difficult situation. Sano wondered if his current mood had anything to do with the young vampiress they had rescued. He had been acting on edge right until they had gotten back to the estate.

Kenshin was always calm and cool, making rational decisions. He had heard that he had lost control at a time when he had been away from the estate. No one spoke of it now.

"I know. It's very strong." Kenshin looked up at the sun. It was high noon. Aoshi would not be able to help with this magical threat. But he would be able to protect the others underground.

He looked in the yard. There were _weres_ everywhere, minding their business. They were slightly nervous but nothing more.

"Everyone inside NOW!!!! Go to the underground chambers! Lock the doors and barricade them!"

Not bothering to ask why the orders were given, the guards rounded up the children and women and guided them back to the estate. Doors were being barricaded as well as windows.

Satisfied that his orders were being followed, he now turned towards Sano. "Make sure that everyone is safe underground. I have already put safeguards around the vampiress' room. It is the most protected room. Guide Megumi, Yahiko and Aoshi to that chamber. If anything happens to the top buildings, that room will keep them safe against the sun."

Sano left without a backward glance to his friend. Kenshin was the strongest fighter he knew. He would be fine.

'_Aoshi, protect the others. This dark force is very strong and I do not know if I will be able to fight it back. You must stay underground and see to the others. Make sure that the safeguards will hold.'_

'_Understood.'_

Focusing on the danger at hand, Kenshin kept his focus to the North. Safeguards had been put all around the estate but the thing that was coming was so powerful. In all his studies of magic and the black arts, he had never encountered such strong magic. A gut feeling was telling him that all this had something to do with the vampiress. It was probably those three sorcerers that had been in his lands before.

That thought made Kenshin's eyes glow even brighter. Sorcerers were powerful, but up to this moment they had been content to destroy their kind in countries where they had the support of the governments and population. They had never dared to enter his lands since they considered it too small to be very significant. Now, they were practically attacking him head on.

Measuring the safeguards again, Kenshin prepared himself. From afar, he could see a dark cloud or commit of some kind approaching fast.

Eyes widening in surprise, he had a hard time comprehending what that thing was.

'A TRACKING SPELL!!! I have never seen one before. If this thing is allowed in my estate, it will…' Kenshin imagined the young vampiress sleeping in the underground chamber. So young, so innocent. He would not allow anyone to harm her. That tracking spell would not touch her.

Strengthening his safeguards, he started building his own inner strength to fight back such a spell. A tracking spell of this magnitude would have to be destroyed head on. There was no way of diverting it from its purpose.

'_Aoshi, are you aware of any incident in the past where one of our kind was called upon to destroy a tracking spell?'_

'_There has been only one recording of such an incident in the past. It was successful but the one destroyed was much weaker than this one. You must find another way.'_

Realising his lack of time, Kenshin quickly thought of what could be done. He had to weaken the spell somehow.

'_Aoshi, tell Megumi to take some blood from the vampiress and then send it to my location.'_

Kenshin quickly fabricated three earth puppets. By the time he was done a pouch of blood was beside him. He felt revulsion that he had to take more blood from the young woman but it could not be helped. Inserting blood in all three puppets, he sent them flying in all three directions with Aoshi lending him his strength.

The commit then wavered in his tracks, unsure of its destination for the very first time since it started its long journey. It started transforming its shape until it split into four smaller commits. One continued its path towards the castle.

An evil grin appeared on Kenshin's face just then 'This is much more to my liking. That spell has lost much of its power.

Harnessing the energy from his inner beast, from nature, from the land and the far ocean, Kenshin raised his sword towards the sky. Lightning arced through him until his red mane floating all around his slight body. His grin stayed in place during the whole time. This was his element, his comfort zone. No one could beat him then.

The comet was upon him. The barriers held off its first attempt at entering. Kenshin's grin widened even more. Eyes more wolf than man now, he jumped into the air towards the black globe.

* * *

_Something was wrong. She could feel it. The warmth that had comforted her was long gone. She had started trembling again and still the warmth had not come back._

_The dark was oppressing. Kaoru had started to feel caged again and panic was starting to settle deep in her. She wanted that warmth back. Where was it?_

_Sudden pain went through her. She yelled out her distress, hysteria sounding in her own ears. The pain was so cold it burned her entire body._

'_Someone make it stop. Please make it stop…'_

_And then there was nothing. Pure emptiness. Just the cold in the dark.

* * *

_

Sooooooooooo? What do you guys think? Masterpiece? Good? Bad? It sucks? As usually, let me know through numerous reviews what you think.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

missy-oa

ps sorry for the cliffy but I couldn't resist. : P


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